FitLit: Doing Away with Diet Drama (and a Giveaway!)
January 19, 2011 by Erin
The teenage years are full of the drama, are they not? Boys, boobs, braces…You couldn’t pay me to repeat those years of adolescent awkwardness! There is enough to worry about during those angsty years without having to deal with negative body image or low self-esteem or figuring out the complexities of living a healthy lifestyle. But unfortunately, many girls do start dieting and disliking their bodies in their teen years. Diet Drama to the rescue!
Diet Drama is a straight-talking, feel-good guide to healthy living, specifically written for the teenage girl. While it speaks in a lighthearted tone for teens, any woman looking to live a healthier lifestyle would benefit from this read. Nancy Redd, who also authored Body Drama (a frank guide to how real women’s bodies look and behave), is a former Miss Virginia who has dealt with her own body-image struggles. She’s super-relatable and proves that even someone who won the swimsuit competition at a Miss America pageant isn’t perfect, as she details her struggles with body image and finding a sustainable healthy way of living in many personal anecdotes throughout the book.
The book starts with a discussion of body image and body acceptance. With a discussion of why BMI may not be the be-all, end-all number to live by to a recommendation to accept your shape and work with what you have, this section is a refreshing reminder that nobody—and no body—is perfect.
Eating well and exercising are also big components of the book. The exercise info in the book—from how to find the right sports bra to common dramas and how to combat them, like not having time to work out—actually solves the problems that may present barriers to living a healthier lifestyle. The eating section of the book focuses on how to properly feed your body (instead of going on a diet) and even discusses how to deal with those who aren’t supportive.
While the book is packed full of anecdotes, useful tidbits and facts, the pictures speak volumes. Girls of all shapes and sizes are featured throughout, and illustrated portion guides can help the health newbie to find what a proper portion really looks like. The pictures of stretching and exercises are also great for beginners.
Diet Drama is a no-drama diet book we can live with! —Erin
Interested in getting rid of the drama in your life? Comment to win a copy of Diet Drama! Winners will be randomly chosen and emailed in about a week. U.S. residents only, please!
I love the underlying message of body acceptance that this book seems to convey. Don’t you want to go back to the teenage girl you used to be and tell her how beautiful she is?
Oh how I wish I knew then what I know now! I had an amazing body in high school. I lost my baby fat the summer after my freshman year, but continued to spend my high schools days thinking I was fat. I weighed between 125 – 130 and had an amazing hourglass shape. I would often look at myself and think I liked what I saw, then I’d pick up a magazine w/Christie Brinkley on the cover (tall, thin, leggy blondes were in vogue then) and bemoan the fact that I couldn’t weigh 110. That’s when my struggles with my weight and body image began. I so wish I had been able to listen to that inner voice that was telling me I was fine the way I was! I hope that all teenage girls get the message that we are all different and unique, and shouldn’t aspire to the image that’s in style at the moment.
As a mother of two young girls, (and a house already full of drama) I would love to have this. If I don’t win, I’ll probably buy it. I’ve already had to have talks with my 5yo about the fact that she is not fat. It’s ridiculous the things kids are exposed to at a young age these days.
Looks like a really good read — would love to have this!
As a woman who still struggles with my body image and now a mother to a little girl, I would love to win this book…anything to help me and in turn help her! I don’t want her to grow up with the same issues I stil struggle with!